Apparatus for marking moving bars such as steel rails

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for applying marks to a surface of a bar, such as a railroad rail, which is moving along a conveyor. The bar is guided to pass between a supporting disc positioned to engage a surface of the bar opposite to the surface to be marked and a stamping disc positioned so as to be engageable with the surface to be marked, and both discs are separately driven at a peripheral speed equal to the linear speed of the moving bar. At the proper time, the stamping disc is pressed into engagement with the surface of the bar. The positions of the supporting and stamping discs are adjustable vertically, laterally and angularly with respect to the path of movement of the bar so that a marking operation can be performed on bars of various sectional configurations.

United States Patent 1191 Goto et a1. Apr. 2, 1974 [54] APPARATUS FORMARKING MOVING 2,508,753 5/1950 Farkas et a1. l01/6 X BARS SUCH AS STEELRAILS [75] Inventors: Masaru Goto; Mitsuo Iso, both of 'f' P PulfieyOsaka, Japan Asszstam Exammer chfford D. Crowder [73] A H h SF b d dAttorney, Agent, or FirmFar1ey, Forster and Farley ss1gnee: l c I 1p ulng an Engineering Company, Ltd., Osaka,

Japan 57] ABSTRACT [22] Filed: Sept 28, 1972 Apparatus for applyingmarks to a surface of a bar, Y such as a railroad rail, which is movingalong a con- 1 PP N 293,074 veyor. The bar is guided to pass between asupporting disc positioned to engage a surface of the bar opposite [30]Foreign Application Priority Data to the surface to be marked and astamping disc posi- Oct 22 M an 46 83817 tioned so as to be engageablewith the surface to be p marked, and both discs are separately driven ata peripheral speed equal to the linear speed of the moving [52] [1.8.CI....., Il0l/6, 101/37, 101/407 A bar. At the p p time, the p g disc ispressed [51] Int. Cl. 841i 17/08, 1341f 17/26 [58] Field 0 Search 101 I637 407 A mto engagement with the surface of the bar. The positions ofthe supporting and stamping discs are adjustable vertically, laterallyand angularly with respect to [56] 7 References Cited the path ofmovement of the bar so that a marking UNITED STATES PATENTS operationcan be performed on bars of various sec- 3,366,041 l/1968 Krynytzky101/6 tional configurations, 7 2,619,030 11 1952 Doyle.. 1 101/6 I3,163,106 12/1964 Failor .1 101/6 5 Claims, 7 Drawing FiguresPAIENIEUAPR 2 m4 SHEEI 1 [IF 4 PATENTEUAFR 2 1914 sum 2 nr 4 FIGQB FIG.2

1 APPARATUS FOR MARKING MOVING BARS I SUCH AS STEEL RAILS SUMMARY OF THEINVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for mechanicallyapplying marks, indicating information such as production history, tobars, such assteel rails and other members having a special sectionalshape, at a predetermined area thereof as the bars are moving.

Heretofore',it has been difficult to apply marks to such bars whilemoving and having their final shape after passing through a rollingprocess, because of their special sections. At present, therefore, amanual operation has to be resorted to.

1 Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide'anapparatus capable of mechanically applying predetermined marks to suchbars, having a special sectional shape while they are moving.

Marking apparatus according to the present inventioncomprises a supportdisc for supporting a moving barfrom below, a stamping disc disposedabove the bar and opposed to the support disc, both of the discs beingrotatable, means for pressing thestamping disc against the surface ofthe bar to be marked, means for changing the stamping position of thestamping disc with respect to the surface to be marked, and means forchanging the supporting position of the support disc.

Other features and merits of the invention will appear from thefollowing description of embodiments of the invention illustrated in'theaccompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OFiT-I-IE DRAWINGS tus of FIG. 1;

FlG.z 4 is an enlarged sectional elevation of stop means shown in FIG.2;, FIG. 5 is an end elevation similarv to FIG. 1 butshowing-a-second-embodiment of the'appar'atus;

"FIG. 6 is'a schematic plan view of the embodiment ofFlGy-S; and, i v

FIG. 7 is an end elevation of a third embodiment of the apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The'first embodiment is shownin FIGS. 1 through 4. In FIGS. 1 through 2, rollers 1 of arollerconveyor, for transferring a bar 2 such as the steel rail shown from arolling process, are disposed in parallel at fixed intervals. Verticalrolls 3 are disposed along one side of the row of rollers l and barpositioning means 4 are attached to the conveyor for guiding the bar 2along the row of vertical rolls 3.

The positioning means 4 comprise a swing frame 6 mounted for horizontalswinging movement on a vertical shaft 5 fixed to the conveyor frame onthe side opposite the row of vertical rolls 3; a guide roller 8supported on avertical shaft 7 at the free end of the swing frame 6; aguide plate 9 attached to the lateral surface 1 of the swing frame 6 'toguide the bar 2 to the guide rol- 2 ler 8; fluid cylinder means 10 forswinging the frame 6; and, stop means 12 adapted to engage an abutment11 provided on the rear surface of the swing frame 6 in its barpositioning position as shown in FIG. 2, the stop means serving toprevent the backward swing of the swing of the swing frame 6. Further, asupport roller 14, in contact with a plate 13 laid at a level slightlybelow, the top surfaces of the rollers l and disposed between adjacentrollers l, is mounted adjacent the free end of the swing frame 6 on anaxle extending at right angles to the direction of swinging movement.

The stop means'12, as shown in FIG. 4, comprises a threaded shaft 16rotatable by a handle 15, a movable shaft 17 adapted to be advanced andretracted by the rotation of the threaded shaft 16, and a stop piece 19supported on a horizontal pivot 18 at the front end of the movable shaft17. By pivoting the stop piece I? counterclockwise to a lower position,backward movement of the swing frame is possible, whereas by-erectingthe stop piece 19 tothe position shownandrotating the threaded shaft 16to advance the stop piece-l9 until it bears against the abutment 11, theswing frame 6;is preventedfrom retracting when engaged by thebar-2. InFIGS. 2 and 4, the stop piece 19 is shown in a retracted position beforeit is advanced. I

' The positioning means4, in the position shown in FIG. 2, controls thepath of movement of the bar 2, being transferred lengthwise on therollers l, by means of the guide plate 9 and guide roller 8 so that saidpath extends along the vertical rolls 3. A'support disc 20 is providedbetween .the two vertical'rolls 3 opposed to v the guide roller 8 and ispositioned under the bar 2 having its path of movement thus controlled.The support disc 20 is supported by means 21, and is driven by'a dersideof the bearing block 26 to support the latter;

and, an operating wheel 32 operatively connected to the drive shaft 30of the jack 29 through anintermediate shaft 31. By rotating theoperating wheel 32 to raise and lower thejack screw 28 of the jack 29,the bearing block 26 can be swung around the axis of the pivot 25,thereby changing the vertical position of the disc 20. The disc 20projects upwardly into the path of movement of the bar 2 through acutout 33 formed in the plate 13.

The drive connection between the motor 22 and the disc-20 includes apair of universal joints 34 and a telescopic shaft 35 toaccommodate thevariations in the vertical position of the disc 20. A speed reducer isindicated by the reference 36.

Disposed above the support disc 20 is a stamping or marking disc 37,which is supported by position changing means 38 andis driven by a motor39. The means 38 comprises a base 40, a frame4l supported on the baseand movable in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the direction ofmovement of the bar 2, a slide 43 movable up and down along the frontsurface of the movable frame 41 at right angles to the rotatable shaft42 of the stamping disc 37, and a bearing frame 44- porting therotatable shaft 42 of the stamping disc 37. A fluid cylinder 45 attachedto the slide 43, and having a piston stem 46 connected at the lower endthereof to the bearing frame 44, presses the stamping disc 37 againstthe surface of the bar to be marked. Means generally designated 47 formoving the frame 41 with respect to the base 40 comprise a telescopicthreaded shaft 48 interposed between the base 40 and the frame 41, and amotor 49 for rotatably driving the telescopic threaded shaft 48. Means50 for raising and lowering the slide 43 with respect to the frame 41,comprise a telescopic threaded shaft 51 interposed between the upperends of the frame 41 and the slide 43, and a motor 52 for rotatablydriving the telescopic threaded shaft 51. In order to reduce the load onthe motor 52 when raising the lifting block 43, a balance weight 53 ismounted on the rear end of the frame 41 and is connected to the upperend of the slide 43 by two wires 55 guided by a plurality of pulleys 54.

A balancer cylinder means 56 is provided for upwardly energizing orbiasing the bearing frame 44 in order to reduce the load on the fluidcylinder 45 when raising the bearing frame 44, said means 56 beingattached to the slide 43 and being connected at the lower end of thepiston rod 57 to the upper end of the bearing frame 44.

The driving connection between the stamping disc 37 and the motor 39 isestablished by a pair of universal joints 8, a telescopic shaft 59 and aspeed reducer 60. In view of the fact that the motor 39 is attached tothe movable frame 41, this driving connection assures the transmissionof power without being influenced by the raising and lowering of thestamping disc 37.

When a marking operation is not being carried out, the telescopicthreaded shaft 51 is contracted by the motor 52 to raise the slide 43,and the telescopic threaded shaft 48 is extended by the motor 49 toretract the movable frame 41 with respect to the base 40, thereby movingthe stamping disc laterally and upwardly from the row of rollers 1.Also, the wheel 32 is rotated to lower the jack screw 28 of the jack 29to permit the bearing block 26 to swing around the axis of the pivot 25thereby moving the support disc 20 downwardly of the plate 13. Further,the stop piece 19 of the stop means 12 is retracted and placed in itsdownwardly extending position, allowing the swing frame 6 to be shiftedfrom above the row of rollers 1. As a result of the above operations,the apparatus does not obstruct the row of rollers 1 so that the bar 2can be freely transferred thereon.

When it is desired to carry out a marking operation, the swing frame 6of the bar positioning means 4 is first swung to its bar-positioningposition and the handle is rotated to extend the stop piece 19 of thestop means 12 so that it abuts against the abutment 11 of the swingframe 6,- The wheel 32 is then operated to project the support discupwardly through the cut-out 33 of the plate 13, the upward extent ofsuch projection being controlled so that the bar 2 moving along rollers1 between the guide roller 8 of the bar positioning means 4 and the rowof vertical rolls 3, can be supported at its surface to be marked.Thereafter, the motors 49 and 52 are driven to advance the frame 41 andto lower the slide 43 whereby the stamping disc 37, held in a raisedposition with respect to the slide 43, is moved above the support disc20. The level of the disc 37 at this time is such that it does notcontact the moving bar 2.

ln this condition, or relationship, the two discs 20 and 37 are drivenby the motors 22 and 39 in such a manner that they have an equalperipheral speed. When the bar 2 is transferred along the row of rollers1, the bar is controlled so as to assume a position in which it is heldbetween the row of vertical rolls 3 and the guide roller 8 by the actionof the positioning means 4 while the bar is moving on the support disc20.

When the portion of the surface of the bar to be marked reaches thesupport disc 20, fluid pressure is supplied to the cylinder 45 to causethe piston rod 46 to lower the bearing block 44 and the marking disc 37is thereby pressed against the bar 2 with the required force; and, whileheld between the two discs 20 and 37, the bar is stamped withpredetermined marks lengthwise thereof by stamping dies preset aroundthe periphery of the rotating stamping disc 37. After completion of thestamping operation, the stamping disc 37 may be raised by the cylinder45.

The driving of the stamping disc 37 may be started at the time it islowered by the cylinder 45. Further, the movable frame 41 and the slide43 may be fixed in position by the telescopic threaded shafts 48 and 51,but it is desirable to concurrently use fluidpressure locking means 61to fix the movable frame 41 at any desired position with respect to thebase 40 and fluid pressure locking means 62 to fix the slide 43 at anydesired position with respect to the movable frame 41.

In this embodiment, the bar 2, of l-shaped cross section such as usedfor railway'rails, is moved on its side as shown. Even though the bar 2may vary in size, the angle of inclination of the web portion whichpresents the surface to be marked is substantially constant, with theresult that the rotatable shaft 42 of the stamping disc 37 is at rightangles to the direction of movementof the bar 2 and is inclined at thesame angle as the angle of inclination of the web portion. Also, if thelevel of the support disc 20 is changed, the angle at which it abutsagainst the web will change, but practically this does not matter if theperiphery of the disc 20 is rounded so that it makes substantially linecontact with the web.

A second embodiment will now be described witha frame 104 is provided,and a slide 105 is mounted on the front end of the frame 104, beingslidable up and down on the front surface 104a thereof as in a dove-tailgroove connection. The frame 104 is movable on the base in thedirections of the arrow 107 which are at right angles to the directionof movement of the bar. A threaded shaft 109 for frame adjustment isrotatably mounted in the base 103 and engages an internally threadedbracket 110 provided on the underside of the frame 104. By suitablyrotating the threaded shaft 109, it is possible to adjust the positionof the frame 104 in either direction of the double headed arrow 107.Similarly, by rotating a threaded shaft 111 mounted on the frame 104 andengaging an internally threaded bracket 1 12 provided on the slide 105,the slide can bevertically adjusted.

A bracket 113 for changing the stamping angle is dis posed above theroller table 101, the lower portion of the bracket being secured to theslide 105 by a pivot pin 114 parallel with the direction 106 of barmovement. The upper portion of the bracket 113 is secured to the slide105 by a threaded shaft 115 for stamping angle adjustment, the threadedshaft 115 being secured to the slide 105 by a pivot pin 116 parallel tothe pivot pin 114 and being secured to the bracket 113 by engagementwith an internally threaded nut 1 18 pivotally mounted on the bracket bya pin 117 parallel with the pivot pin114. The members 113-118 describedabove constitute meansfor changing the stamping angle with respect tothe surface of the bar to be stamped, and by suitably rotating thethreaded shaft 115 the bracket 113 can be tilted to any desired angleabout the axis of the pivot pin 114. Rotation of the shaft 115 may beeffected, for example, by fitting a handle (not shown) on one end 115athereof.

A disc holder 119, mounted for up and down movement on the bracket 1 13,includes a rotatable shaft 120 extending at right angles to thedirection 106 of bar movement as viewed from above, the rotatable shaft120 having a stamping disc 121 fixed thereto with suitable stamping diesremovably attached to the outer periphery of the stamping disc.,A motor122 is provided for rotating the stamping disc 121, and pressing meanssuch as cylinder 123 is mounted above the disc holder 119 and isactuatable to position the holder and to press the stamping disc againstthe surface of the bar 102 to be stamped.

A support disc 124 is disposed between rollers 101a of the roller table101 in opposed relationto the stamping disc 121 and serves to supportthe bar 102 from below. The support disc 124 is supported by threeblocks,

a lifting block 126 shown in an upper position and.

mounted on a base 125 therebelow, a horizontally movable-block 127 shownin an intermediate position, and an inclination angle adjusting block128 shown inan angular position. The lifting block 126 is supported by apair of wedges 129a and 129b which are movable toward and away from eachother to change the level of the lifting block 126; the horizontallymovable block 127 is mounted on the lifting block 126 and is movable ina direction atright angles to the direction 106 of bar movement; and,the inclination angle changing block 128 is supported on thehorizontally movable block 127 so as to be tiltable to any desired anglealong an arcuate contact surface 130 having a suitable'radius with thecenter on an axis extending parallel to the direction 106 of barmovement.'A threaded shaft 131 for moving the two wedges 129a and 129btoward and away from each other is rotatable with respect to the base125 and engages the wedges 129a and 12% with mutually oppositely handedscrews. A threaded shaft 132 for adjusting the horizontally movableblock 127 is screwed into an internally threaded bracket 133 on theblock 127.

An arcuate worm gear 137, coaxial with the arcuate contact surface 130of the inclination angle changing block 128, meshes with a worm 135 on aworm shaft 136 mounted in bearings 137. These members 128, 130 and 134constitute means 146 for changing the angle at which a, shaft 139 forthe support disc is positioned.

designates a hydraulic cylinder guide 142.

for moving the movable An operation of marking a moving bar with theabove the axis of the pin 114. It is possible to thereby set thestamping disc 121 at right angles with the surface of the bar 102 to bemarked.

Adjustment of the'support disc 124 may be effected by suitably combiningthe adjustment of the level of the lifting block 126 by the wedges 129aand 129b, the positional adjustment of the horizontally movable block127 in one of the directions of the arrow 107, and the 4 adjustment ofthe angle of inclination of the block 128 on the arcuate contact surface130. It is possible for the support disc 124 to thereby assume aposition in which it is disposed below and opposed to the stamping disc121, ready to withstand the stamping force. In making these adjustments,each of the three threaded shafts 131, 132 and 136 may be rotated by ahandle (not shown) fitted on one end thereof. In addition to theadjustments described above, the movable guide142 is fixed in positionby the means 144 so as to define a path of movement of the bar 102between the fixed and movable guides 141 and 142 and guide the front endof the moving bar 102. When the moving bar 102 passes, the front endthereof actuates detectors 145a and 145b, such as photoelectric devicesdisposed on the roller table 101, thereby activating the drive means 122for Drive means 140, comprising a motor and a speed rev ducingmechanism, are provided for rotating the support disc 124. v

A fixed guide 141 is disposed at a fixed position on i the roller table101, and a movable guide 142 is horizontally pivotally supportedat oneend by a shaft 143. Means for fixing the position of the movable guideare designated by the reference 144, and the reference 147 the stampingdisc 121 to rotate the stamping disc at the same peripheral speed as thelinear speed of the bar 102. At the same time, the fluid cylinder 123 isactuated to press the stamping disc 121 against the surface of the bar102 to be marked. Predetermined marking is thereby applied to thesurface as said surface is supported by the support disc 124 which isrotating at the same peripheral speed as that of the stamping disc.

After marking, the fluid cylinder 123 is retracted, thereby raising thestamping disc 121. At this time, the

stamping disc 121 is stopped after having gone through one completerevolution ready for the next marking operation. When it is desired toapply marking to the rear end of the bar 102, the detectors a and '145bmay be positioned some distance ahead.

With the apparatus of this second embodiment, the stamping angleand'position can of course be changed as desired, and as compared withthe apparatus of the first embodiment, it is possible to maintainconstant the relative position and posture relationv between thestamping disc and the support disc, assuring that a positive markingoperation is easily effected regardless of the cross sectional shape ofthe bar.

A third embodiment will now be described with reference to FIG. 7. Partshaving the same reference nu-. merals as those shown in FIG. 5 are thesame so that a movement of a bar 102. A threaded shaft 208 engages a nut207 pivotally mounted on the pedestal 203 by a pin 206, and the shaft ispivotally connected at the front end thereof to the frame 205 through apin 209, parallel to the pin 206, without interfering with the rotationof the shaft 208 with respect to the nut 207. R- tation of the shaft 208causes a back and forth movement thereof in the directions of the doubleheaded arrow 107 with respect to the nut 207, thereby causing the frame205 to swing (in the directions of the double headed arrow 233) aroundthe axis of the shaft 204 in a plane perpendicular to the direction ofmovement of the bar 102. The shaft 208, nut 207 and pins 206, 209constitute a tilting means 231.

A slide 210 is mounted on the upper portion of the inclined frontsurface 205a of the frame 205 through connecting means such as adovetail groove. Upward and downward positional adjustment of the slide210 can be effected by rotating a threaded shaft 21 1 engaging a nut 212fixed to the slide 210. A stamping disc holder is mounted on the slide210 for up and down sliding movement in the direction of the doubleheaded arrow 234, and a stamping disc 215 is supported by the stampingdisc holder on a rotatable shaft 214. A stamp- 7 ing or marking band215a is removably attached to the outer periphery of the stamping disc215. The stamping disc 215 is rotated ,by a drive motor 216 and ispressed against the surface 102a to be marked on the bar 102 by pressingmeans 217 such as a hydraulic cylinder fixed to the upper portion of theslide 210 and acting on the holder 213.

A support disc holder 218 is fixed to the lower portion of the frontinclined surface 205a of the frame 205 and supports a bar supportingdisc 220 on a rotatable shaft 219. The support disc 220 is rotated by adrive motor 221 and abuts against the surface of the moving bar 102opposite to the surface to be marked, thereby performing the function ofsupporting the bar at the time of marking by the stamping disc 215.

A threaded shaft 222 is fixed to the bottom of the pedestal 203 andextends downwardly therefrom. A worm wheel 225 engages the shaft 222 andis rotatably supported in fixed bearings 224. The shaft 227 of a worm226 meshing with the worm wheel 225 extends out through a base 223.Rotation of the shaft 227 causes the worm wheel 225 to be rotated aroundthe axis of the threaded shaft 222, thereby vertically moving thethreaded shaft 222 to set the vertical position of the frame 205'and ofthe stamping and support discs 215 and 220 mounted thereon. Thesemembers 222, 225-227 constitute a vertical adjustment means 232.

A threaded shaft 228 engages a nut 229 provided under the base 223,rotation of the threaded shaft causing the base 223 to be moved back andforth in the directions of the arrow 107 with respect to a fixed base230.

Operation of this apparatus will now be described. The angle of thestamping disc 215 with respect to the surface to be marked is adjustedby the tilting means 231 in such a manner that the stamping disc abutsperpendicularly against the surface 102a to be stamped of the moving bar102 on the roller table 101. Next, the vertical position of the supportdisc is set by adjusting the vertical adjustment means 232 in such amanner that the support disc 220 positively supports the moving bar 102from below. The position of the bracket 210 on the frame 105 is set bythe shaft 211 and nut 212 in such a manner that the stamping disc 215 ispositively depressed against the surface 102a to be marked at the lowerlimit of the downward stroke of the pressing means 217 so as to assuresatisfactory marking. F urther, by operating the shaft 228 to move thebase 223 back and forth, it is possible to make a finer adjustment ofthe marking position on the surface 102a to be stamped. Each of theshafts 208, 211 and 228 may be operated, e.g., by fitting handles on oneof their respective ends and rotating the handles.

At the same time as the drive motor 216 is operated to rotate thestamping disc 215 at the same peripheral speed as the linear speed ofthe bar 102, the pressing means 217 is actuated to press the stampingdisc against the surface 102a to be marked so that this disc markspredetermined letters on the surface 102a stably and positively incooperation with the support disc 220 which is also rotating at the sameperipheral speed. After the marking operation, the pressing means 217 isreturned to retract the stamping disc 215. At this time, the stampingdisc is stopped after having gone through one complete revolution, readyfor the next marking operation.

The tilting means 231 and the vertical adjustment means 232 may, ofcourse, be constituted by other mechanisms than those shown in theembodiment, for example hydraulic means.

In the stamping apparatus of the third embodiment, the stamping disc andsupport disc are unitarily mounted in opposed relation to each other inthe same frame, and thereby a change of marking angle and position canbe simply and positively effected by the swinging and up and downmovement of the single frame.

Although stamping on an inclined surface has been described in theembodiments, it will be readily understood that the present apparatus iscapable of easily stamping a horizontal surface.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for marking a bar moving linearly on a conveyor comprising:

a row of vertical rolls disposed on one side of said conveyor;

bar positioning means displacable between a first position in which themoving bar is engaged thereby and pressed against said row of verticalrolls and a second position in which the bar positioning means isretracted laterally of said conveyor;

a movable frame disposed laterally and upwardly of said conveyor anddisplacable in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the direction ofmovement of said bar, a slide mounted for vertical movement on saidframe, a bearing frame mounted on said slide so as to be capable ofbeing raised and lowered in a direction substantially perpendicular to asurface to be marked on said moving bar, a stamping disc rotatablysupported on said bearing frame by a shaft whose axis extendssubstantially parallel to said'surface to be marked and transverse tothe direction of movement of said bar, and pressing.

9 changing the position of the supporting disc between a first position'in which the moving bar is supported thereby and a second position inwhich the supporting disc is retracted below the transfer surface of theconveyor; and,

means for driving the supporting and stamping discs at a peripheralspeed equal to the linear speed of the moving bar.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said pressing means includes acylinder means for raising and lowering the bearing frame relative tothe slide, and balancer cylinder means for biasing the bearing frameupwardly to reduce the load on the cylinder means when raising thebearing frame.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the supporting means forchanging the position of the supporting disc includes a bearing blocksupporting the supporting disc shaft, a pivot on which the bearing blockis vertically swingable on an axis perpendicular to the axes of thesupporting disc shaft, a jack having a jack screw supporting the bearingblock in spaced relation to said pivot, and driving means for drivingsaid jack screw to raise and lower the bearing block.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said supporting disc isprovided with a rounded peripheral edge adapted to make line contactwith the moving bar.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the bar positioning meansincludes a swing frame provided with a guide plate for guiding the frontend of the moving bar, means pivotally mounting one end of the swingframe on one side of the conveyor, the free end of the swing frameextending from the pivotal mounting in the downstream direction ofmovement of the bar, a guide roller mounted at the free 'end of theswing frame, fluid cylinder means for swinging the swing frame towardand away from said row of vertical rolls, and stop means for preventingmovement of said swing frame away from said row of vertical rolls, saidstop means being selectively positionable for engagement by said swingframe.

1. Apparatus for marking a bar moving linearly on a conveyor comprising:a row of vertical rolls disposed on one side of said conveyor; barpositioning means displacable between a first position in which themoving bar is engaged thereby and pressed against said row of verticalrolls and a second position in which the bar positioning means isretracted laterally of said conveyor; a movable frame disposed laterallyand upwardly of said conveyor and displacable in a horizontal directionorthogonal to the direction of movement of said bar, a slide mounted forvertical movement on said frame, a bearing frame mounted on said slideso as to be capable of being raised and lowered in a directionsubstantially perpendicular to a surface to be marked on said movingbar, a stamping disc rotatably supported on said bearing frame by ashaft whose axis extends substantially parallel to said surface to bemarked and transverse to the direction of movement of said bar, andpressing means interposed between said slide and bearing frame formoving said stamping disc into and out of engagement with the surface tobe marked; a supporting disc mounted on a shaft extending substantiallyparallel to the stamping disc shaft for supporting said moving bar belowthe stamping disc when the latter is pressed against the surface of themoving bar to be marked, supporting means for changing the position ofthe supporting disc between a first position in which the moving bar issupported thereby and a second position in which the supporting disc isretracted below the transfer surface of the conveyor; and, means fordriving the supporting and stamping discs at a peripheral speed equal tothe linear speed of the moving bar.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1wherein said pressing means includes a cylinder means for raising andlowering the bearing frame relative to the slide, and balancer cylindermeans for biasing the bearing frame upwardly to reduce the load on thecylinder means when raising the bearing frame.
 3. Apparatus according toclaim 1 wherein the supporting means for changing the position of thesupporting disc includes a bearing block supporting the supporting discshaft, a pivot on which the bearing block is vertically swingable on anaxis perpendicular to the axes of the supporting disc shaft, a jackhaving a jack screw supporting the bearing block in spaced relation tosaid pivot, and driving means for driving said jack screw to raise andlower the bearing block.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein saidsupporting disc is provided with a rounded peripheral edge adapted tomake line contact with the moving bar.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 1wherein the bar positioning means includes a swing frame provided with aguide plate for guiding the front end of the moving bar, means pivotallymounting one end of the swing frame on one side of the conveyor, thefree end of the swing frame extending from the pivotal mounting in thedownstream direction of movement of the bar, a guide roller mounted atthe free end of the swing frame, fluid cylinder means for swinging theswing frame toward and away from said row of vertical rolls, and stopmeans for preventing movement of said swing frame away from said row ofvertical rolls, said stop means being selectively positionable forengagement by said swing frame.